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Barong Tagalog


The Barong Tagalog, more commonly known as simply Barong (and occasionally called Baro), is an embroidered formal shirt which is considered the national dress of the Philippines. It is lightweight and worn untucked over an undershirt.

Today, in lowland Christian Filipino culture it is common formal attire, especially at weddings. Less formal variants are used also as uniform in schools, universities and offices. Through the years, it has occasionally been feminized and worn by women. This may be seen either as an egalitarian or haute couture fashion statement, or as a form of power dressing when worn by female politicians such as when Philippine President Corazon Aquino wore it at various times during her presidency.

The Barong Tagalog was popularised as formal wear by President Ramón Magsaysay, who wore it to most private and state functions, including his own inauguration.

The term "Barong Tagalog" is usually shortened in modern Filipino as "Barong", though grammatically, barong is not a word that can stand alone. It contains the suffix -ng, which indicates that it is an adjective or an adjective must directly follow.

The root word of barong is the Tagalog word baro meaning "outfit" or "clothing". "Barong Tagalog" literally means "Tagalog outfit". The term was originally used to describe what people, both men and women, typically wore in the Tagalog region during the Spanish era. In time, the term caught on for the shirt alone, and other styles of dresses got their own names (e.g. Maria Clara, baro't saya, magsasaka, kamisa de chino, and terno).

Prior to the Spanish Era, the Tagalogs of Luzon already wore a garment that was a forerunner of the Barong Tagalog - the Baro. Earliest reference to the Baro was in the Historical account of Ma-i (Pre-Colonial name for the Philippines) that the Filipinos wore a sleeve-doublet of rough cotton cloth called kanga, reaching slightly below the waist. It was collarless and had an opening in front. The doublets indicated the social status and badge of courage of a man, red was for the Chiefs and the Bravest, Black and White for the Ordinary Citizen.


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